What are the Best Ab Exercises???

In recent years, many products and exercises have promise the best and fastest results in abdominal training. But how do you know what is the most efficient path to tighter abs?

Recent research tested diverse exercises using EMG (electromyography). EMG measures the amount of electricity generated by a muscle. Electrodes are placed on the surface of the skin above the muscle being tested and a computer measures the underlying electrical activity. EMG also calculates the percent of muscle fibers being under stress.

The study revealed some interesting results … Here are some exercises and the responses generated:

Activity in Rectus Abdominis

Activity in Obliques

Exercise

Mean % Activity

Mean % Activity

1

Bicycle maneuver

248

290

2

captain’s chair

212

310

3

exercise ball

139

147

4

vertical leg crunch

129

216

5

torso track

127

145

6

Long arm crunch

119

118

7

Reverse crunch

109

240

8

Crunch with heel push

107

126

9

Ab roller

105

101

10

Hover

100

230

11

traditional crunch

100

100

12

Exercise tubing pull

92

77

13

Ab rocker

21

74

The bottom line is that you don’t need to have any specific equipment to have stronger or tighter abs. The only thing you need to know is how to stimulate them, which can be done just with your body weight.

This is how a typical ab program could look like:

Exercise

Sets X Reps

Interval (secs)

Week 1-3

Bicycle maneuver

4 X 20sec

20

captain’s chair

3 X max reps

45

reverse crunch

3 X max reps

45

Week 4-8

Bicycle maneuver

4 X 30

20

captain’s chair

5 X max reps

45

reverse crunch

5 X max reps

45

Remember, you don’t need a gym membership or complicated machinery to build nice abs. Perform a variety of effective exercises, use your body weight, have a clean diet, and you’ll achieve the results you desire!!